The present invention relates to a system for essentially continuously monitoring, measuring and recording consumption of individual utility loads at a multiple consuming site, and in particular to the monitoring, measuring and recording the energy usage by the individual units in a multiple unit complex.
Multiple unit buildings and complexes may provide a centralized public utility connection or source for the distribution to the individual dwellings or units. Such utilities may consist of water, gas, electricity, heating and the like. Although in the distribution of certain products such as electricity, individual metering devices are often provided, they are not, for example, conveniently provided for a central air conditioning system such as a heating and/or cooling means and the like. Without individual allocation, tenants or group residents do not have any particular incentive to reduce their energy usage because they either do not pay any of the cost or it is distributed over the total number of residents and its impact is thus significantly reduced. As a practical matter, decentralized heating systems are often used, with separate individual heating units such as electrical heaters, individual heat pumps and/or small furnaces provided to each tenant. Such separate units, however, are relatively more expensive in the initial cost and installation as well as in the overall operating cost. Central heating and cooling systems have a distinct advantage particularly in moderate and large complexes because of significantly higher efficiency and lower initial costs. However, the allocation of heating costs between the individual building units according to their individual usages is generally expensive as a result of the necessary individual monitoring and recording devices required. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,852 to Kaichi Sakakibara et al discloses a combined temperature reading and flow reading on an individual basis for metering of heat energy consumed in a particular dwelling unit. Each unit has means for measuring the inlet and outlet temperatures and developing a variable frequency pulse output signal train with the frequency proportional to the heat level in combination with a flow measuring device for controlling the operative reading time interval for each temperature readout unit. The device of course includes a special flow meter for each individual line or unit as well as the necessary interfacing and conversion equipment to establish the pulse output for driving of individual counters. Other patents show similar as well as other integrating flow measuring systems including various mechanical and electrical temperature and metering combinations. Generally similar systems are discussed in the earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,210,082 and 3,639,737. The concept of individual unit monitoring with individually tailored systems is also shown for a hot air system in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,044 wherein each separate blower unit to distribute the conditioned air throughout the individual units is coupled to drive a related integrating means to produce a readout in accordance with the fan usage. For example, in Europe, heat responsive metering units which are hung directly on the heat exchanges are widely employed for monitoring and recording of the actual energy usage based on the hot water flowing through a radiator. Such systems are widely accepted, with various countries providing legal regulation of their usage. Generally, it has been found that the residents' incentive is such as to substantially reduce their usage of energy and studies have indicated that the reduction may be on the order of 30%. The current energy crisis thus would indicate that individual metering of energy consumption in multiple unit complexes is a highly desirable social factor as well as an advantage to the individual residents to insure that they are being burdened with only those costs related to their actual consumption. However, the Federal Department of Energy of the United States has reported in a report that present monitoring and remote reporting systems generally cost from $600. to $1300. per apartment and as such are not economically acceptable.
Where individual meters are used, various remote reading systems have also been suggested wherein the individual meters can be read and the output sent to a central station, either periodically or on demand, for appropriate monitoring and control, such as billing and the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,434 discloses the concept of an on-site microprocessor unit for reading and storing of the output of a plurality of individual meters, with telephone coupling means for transmitting the readings of the several meters over the telephone line to a central processing system. Similarly, the earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,460 discloses a central computer having means for interrogating remote stations for meter information and using such information for billing and the like. These systems of course rely on and require separate meters for each load with the corresponding complexity, cost & the like.
Thus, in spite of the ever increasing cost of energy, multiple unit building owners have not been offered a properly coated automated system with an appropriate cost recovery period, so far as the present inventor knows, for allocating individual charges to the users in any proper relationship to the actual energy usage by the customer.
There is therefore a need for a single, reliable and relatively inexpensive monitoring and measuring system for recording and processing the energy or similar utility consumption in multiple unit complexes to minimize energy usage and establish an incentive to the residents to assist in such efforts.